Ford Archives

Yay summer is here, but while most of us are looking forward to taking some much needed time off, Ford's workforce won't be as lucky. Ford is going to add an additional 200,000 units of annual straight-time capacity this year. In addition, Ford will produce an extra 40,000 units by idling select plants for only one week during what has been the traditional two-week summer shutdown.

Are you a huge fan of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup, but wish that Ford would create an SUV version for your family? Well Hennessey Performance has answered your prayers. What we have here is the Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV, which is an SUV conversion of the popular F-150 SVT Raptor.

The 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid has earned the highest possible "five-star" Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid joins the Ford Fusion and the Fusion Hybrid which already received five-star safety ratings. NHTSA has elected to test plug-in vehicles separately from vehicles powered by gasoline engines as the market share of electrified vehicles is increasing.

Ford has announced plans to add more than 2,000 jobs to support high demand for Ford F-150 plus the planned production of the all-new Transit family of commercial vehicles starting next summer. Ford is adding 900 jobs and a third crew in the third quarter to build F-150. U.S. sales of Ford's F-Series trucks increased 24 percent in April and 19 percent year to date. Ford also is adding another 1,100 jobs starting in the fourth quarter to prepare for the introduction of the all-new Ford Transit full-size van in 2014.

Next year is the Ford Mustang's 50th birthday and Ford is already kicking off the celebration. Ford is teaming up with Shinola, a Detroit-based luxury goods manufacturer, to celebrate 50 years of the Ford Mustang with the release of a premium 46-millimeter wristwatch with Swiss movements.

It's been years since the Ford Escort was sold here in the US, but Ford has decided to revive the name for a new C-segment concept car in China. The new Ford Escort concept was just unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show and according to Ford, it's designed for "Chinese consumers seeking a fun driving experience and high level of technology, consumers who also value exceptional roominess, uncompromised functionality and sophisticated design."

Ford is celebrating the milestone of one million Mustangs being produced at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant since production moved there in 2004, which also happens to be 49 years to the day after the Mustang's 1964 debut in New York. Ford has built Mustangs near its home base in Dearborn, Mich. for 49 years. The car was built at Ford's famous Rouge factory, just a few minutes from company headquarters, for four decades before moving a few miles south to Flat Rock in 2004.

Ford and General Motors have signed an agreement that will see both automakers jointly develop an all-new generation of advanced-technology nine- and 10-speed automatic transmissions for cars, crossovers, SUVs and trucks. The collaboration enables both automakers to design, develop, engineer, test, validate and deliver these new transmissions for their vehicles faster and at lower cost than if each company worked independently.

Earlier this week there were reports that Ford is going to introduce a new 1.5L EcoBoost engine in the 2014 Fusion. It was reported that it would be a three-cylinder 1.5L engine, but instead it is actually a four-cylinder, since Ford has officially confirmed the new engine. The new 1.5L EcoBoost engine is now the fifth EcoBoost engine in Ford's lineup.

Ford has announced that the Ford Explorer is being produced from the ground up outside of the United States for the first time in the SUV's history. The first full-production Explorer has rolled off the assembly line at Ford Sollers Elabuga Assembly Plant in the Republic of Tatarstan for the Russian market. Previously, only knock-down versions of Explorer had been built anywhere outside of the United States, including Elabuga, since 2012. Knock-down production means partially assembled vehicles are imported from the home plant - in this case, Ford's Explorer plant in Chicago - along with the parts needed to complete them, and then fully assembled at the local facility.

Ford has unveiled a new special edition version of the popular Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. The 2014 F-150 SVT Raptor Special Edition adds adds unique new touches to Raptor's existing Luxury Package, including a Ruby Red Metallic exterior color and box-side graphics. Interior upgrades include Brick Red seat bolsters with black inserts and cloth honeycomb highlights, console top finish panel, and center stack and door panel appliqué accents.

It's being reported that the 2014 Ford Fusion is going to be offered with Ford's new 1.5L three-cylinder engine. BlueOvalForums was able to get a quick look at the order guide for the 2014 Fusion, which shows that the new engine will be offered in the Fusion for the 2014 mode year, with late availability.

Ford has announced that the final 2012 Polk global market registration data has been finalized, which reports that the Ford Focus was the best-selling passenger car in the world 2012, with the Ford F-Series pickup coming in third and Ford Fiesta coming in as the best-selling subcompact.

The Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car in the US for over a decade, but is it's top-selling crown up for grabs? The Camry is still currently the best selling car in the US for the first three months of this year, but last month's sales may preview a change by the end of the year.

What exactly is a hot hatch and why do enthusiasts love them so much? According to Wikipedia a "Hot hatch" or "hot hatchback" is a high-performance derivative of a car body style consisting of a three- or five-door hatchback automobile. Vehicles of this class are based on family-oriented automobiles, and are equipped with an uprated more powerful internal combustion engine, improved suspension, and may also include additional 'aerodynamic' body parts and larger wheels and tires. In other words a hot hatch takes a basic economy car and dials up the performance, without compromising its versatility and practicality. For years the segment has been dominated by the Volkswagen GTI and today includes models like the Mazdaspeed3 and Subaru WRX. Ford has decided to take a stab at the segment, which it abandoned in 2004 when the last SVT Focus rolled off the line. Once again the Focus has been tapped as Ford's entry in the highly competitive "hot hatch" segment, but this time it's dubbed the Focus ST with "ST" standing for "sport technologies." We loved the 2002-2004 Focus SVT, but how well does the 2013 Focus ST stack up against the king of the class, the GTI?

Forget all about that two-door Ford Explorer Sport, the 2013 Ford Explorer Sport may have two more doors than before, but it packs a lot more "sport" under the hood. The 2013 Explorer Sport is powered by the same 3.5L EcoBoost engine as the Taurus SHO and Flex EcoBoost, which means that it packs 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft. of torque under the hood. The 3.5L is mated to a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Compared to the other two engines, the Explorer offers, the turbocharged 3.5L EcoBoost generates 75 more horsepower than the naturally-aspirated 3.5L V6 and a whopping 125 more than the turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder. The news gets even better, the all-wheel-drive Explorer Sport is only slightly less fuel efficient than the 3.5L Explorer all-wheel-drive with a 16/22 mpg rating compared to 17/23.

Motor Trend is reporting that Ford is working on a next-generation Lincoln Navigator SUV, which will likely see its current V8 engine replaced with Ford's 3.5L EcoBoost V6. The Lincoln Navigator is facing some stiff competition from models like the Mercedes-Benz GL and this fall a new Cadillac Escalade will arrive.

It's been reported several times that Ford is working on a new four-cylinder engine for the next-generation Mustang. It's expected that the 2015 Ford Mustang will be offered with a new 2.3L four-cylinder engine, but it now looks like that engine will only be offered in Europe. Edmunds is reporting that the new engine, which is based off the 2.0L EcoBoost engine that powers the Focus ST, will offer European buyers a more fuel efficient alternative to the V8 Mustang.

Ford has pushed the pricing for the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST live on its site. If you've been waiting to see how much it will cost to get your hands on the high-performance version of the Fiesta, well hopefully $21,400 is within your range.

Ford has announced that Ford drivers with vehicles equipped with SYNC AppLink can soon access Spotify's catalog of more than 20 million tracks on the go. The integration with Spotify to offer the streaming music service in Ford SYNC AppLink-equipped vehicles is the company's first direct collaboration with an automotive manufacturer.

It looks like someone at Ford accidentally leaked an image of the upcoming 2015 Ford Edge in a powerpoint presentation. The powerpoint slide was created for the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference and showed Ford's global lineup. Rather than show the current Ford Edge, the slide contained a small image of the upcoming 2015 Edge.

Ford has announced that the 2013 Ford Focus Electric has earned a top vehicle safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Focus Electric earned a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing, which combines vehicle performance in frontal and side-impact crash tests and resistance to rollover.

Ford has unveiled the Ford Fiesta ST Race Car, which is going to debut this week at the Chicago Auto Show. With Ford's global launch of Fiesta ST under way, Ford Racing will introduce the ST performance badge in the 2013 season of the Global RallyCross Championship and Global X Games events.

Ford has announced that its hybrid market share jumped nine points from December 2011 to December 2012, while Toyota's share of the hybrid vehicle segment dropped 8 points. Ford's market share in the segment has jumped thanks to the launch of the C-MAX hybrid and the all-new Fusion hybrid.

Ford, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz have signed a new three-way agreement to accelerate the commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicle technology with the goal to launch the world's first affordable, mass-market FCEVs as early as 2017. The goal of the collaboration is to jointly develop a common fuel cell electric vehicle system while reducing investment costs associated with the engineering of the technology.

Ford launched the Ford Focus Electric EV last year, but only managed to sell 685 units out of the 1,627 built. Since Ford now has almost 1,000 units on hand, Ford is offering some hefty discounts to move the electric version of the Ford Focus. Ford is now offering $10,750 off for customers who lease the Focus Electric for three years and $2,000 for those that buy it.

The 2013 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid have received a five-star top vehicle safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Fusion and Fusion Hybrid received a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing, which combines vehicle performance in frontal and side-impact crash tests and resistance to rollover.

The Ford Atlas Concept, which is a preview of the next Ford F-150, has been named Autoweek Magazine's Most Significant vehicle of the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.

The 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid now has an EPA-rated total range of up to 620 miles and the ability to drive up to 21 miles in electric-only mode, which is nearly triple the electric-only range of plug-in hybrids from Toyota and Honda. The Fusion Energi is rated at 108 MPGe city, 92 MPGe highway and 100 MPGe combined.

Not to be overshadowed by GM's new pickups, Ford has unveiled the Ford Atlas Concept in Detroit, which is a preview of the next F-150. "The Ford Atlas Concept previews the innovations that will transform what people expect from their pickup," said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. "With 36 years as America's best-selling pickup, we are absolutely committed to setting the agenda in the truck market."

The Ford Atlas Concept features a next-generation EcoBoost® powertrain, which introduces truck-enhanced Auto Start-Stop engine shutoff technology. Auto Start-Stop shuts off the engine when stopped in traffic to save fuel - and smartly suspends the feature when the truck knows it is towing.

Lincoln has unveiled the Lincoln MKC concept, which is a preview of Lincoln's new small crossover and that is debuting this week at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. The small luxury utility segment grew almost 60 percent in 2012 and more than 200 percent in the last four years, which is why it's part of Lincoln's future strategy.

For the second year in a row Ford has topped 2 million sales in the U.S. Ford was also the only brand to break the 2 million sales mark in 2012. Following Ford's lead is Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai. In addition, Ford is only automaker with three vehicle nameplates in the global top 10 - Focus at number 1, F-Series at number 4 and Fiesta at number 5.

Ford has announced that the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi is expected to get up to 92 MPGe on the highway, 108 MPGe in the city and have a combined 100 MPGe. That rating puts it ahead of the Toyota Prius plug-in, but slightly behind the 2014 Honda Accord plug-in hybrid, which has a 115 MPGe rating.

A class action lawsuit is being filed against Ford due to its "misleading ads" that claim that the 2013 C-Max and Fusion hybrid models achieve 47 mpg. Both hybrids are rated at 47 mpg in the city, 47 mpg on the highway and 47 mpg combined, but its been revealed that in actual real world tests neither model achieves those ratings.

Ford has announced plans to spend more than $773 million on new equipment and capacity expansions across six manufacturing facilities in southeast Michigan as it delivers on a commitment to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. plants by 2015. The investments in Michigan will create 2,350 new hourly jobs and allow the company to retain an additional 3,240 hourly jobs. The 2,350 new positions are part of the 12,000 hourly jobs that Ford is adding across the U.S. by 2015.

Ford is helping Santa Claus save future Christmases with an all-new 2014 Transit Connect Wagon sleigh. Due to larger-than-ever numbers of children on his "nice" list, Claus needed a new sleigh with maximum fuel economy and cargo space to efficiently deliver all his presents around the world. Ford designed a concept sleigh for Claus based on the 2014 Transit Connect Wagon, powered by EcoBoost, that offers 30 mpg-plus and an industry-leading presents per gallon (ppg) cargo rating. As an added benefit, the EcoBoost engine - which is finely tuned for high-speed performance - would offer speeds much faster than Claus ever traveled in his former 36-hoofpowered sleigh.

The all-new 2013 Ford Fusion and Honda Accord both just earned an overall good rating in the aggressive, new small overlap frontal crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Under the more stringent testing guidelines by the IIHS, the new small overlap frontal crash test--sometimes called a "narrow offset" test--is designed to replicate what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole.

Yesterday GM unveiled its all-new 2014 Silverado and Sierra pickups, but now we have some early details about their crosstown rival, the Ford F-Series. The next-generation 2015 Ford F-Series is slated to arrive in the fall of 2014. Ford has reportedly set a goal of improving the next pickup's fuel economy by 15-20 percent, which would also make it the most fuel efficient model in the segment.

Ford has announced that its all-new 2014 Transit full-size van, which goes on sale late next year, will be offered with a new 3.2-liter Power Stroke five-cylinder diesel. The new diesel, Ford's second in North America, is being borrowed from the global Ford Ranger truck sold in world markets. The new Power Stroke Diesel will be the only five-cylinder diesel engine available in a commercial van in North America.

Lincoln has announced the launch of its new advertising campaign: "Introducing the Lincoln Motor Company." Lincoln was originally called the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, when Edsel Ford signed the agreement purchasing the company from its founder Henry Leland. By reintroducing "The Lincoln Motor Company," the advertising campaign seeks to capture the founding principles of the company.